This summer, most news outlets had stories about the high cost of leaving home due to gas prices. They reported that many of us opted for a “staycation” — where we stay home and breathe some new life into our current environment. It’s not as dramatic a change as a vacation, but it provides us with some of the freshness we crave. In today’s unstable economic climate, the cost of leaving our jobs is too high — emotionally, financially, practically – for many of us. So what can we do to breathe new life into an old job? We may need to consider taking a “staycation” at work.

18 Ways to Take a “Staycation” At Your Current Job

• Revisit your job description, and see what you can trade with someone else (after getting your supervisor’s permission, of course)
• Ask your supervisor if there’s something in his or her job description that you can do
• Bring new photos, artwork, snacks, supplies, or inspirational quotations to your workspace
• Clear off the clutter and start fresh
• Ask if you can telecommute one day a week, a month or a quarter
• Do some professional development – attend a conference, go to a networking event, take a course, get some training, work with a mentor or coach
• Write something based on your work experience – and get it published
• Make one new friend and one close friend
• Do a skills gap assessment between the job you have and the job you want
• Deal directly with a problem situation or person you’ve been trying to get around or ignore
• Figure out what you want – and ask for it
• Incorporate a hobby into your work life
• Appreciate what your current position and organization has to offer
• Suggest improvements in the work environment that others would benefit from as well – and then spearhead one area of change
• Find your unique niche and hone it
• Look for opportunities to partner with people whose company you enjoy
• Actively maintain a high level of marketability – whether you’re looking or not
• Figure out the difference that you make personally, interpersonally and organizationally – and give yourself the credit you deserve

For more by Deborah check out her previous post 15 Tips for Keeping Staff, Volunteers and Yourself Happy and a new series of fall teleclasses in partnership with jewishjobs.com.